AIG Deconstructed: Sifting the Rubble

NEW YORK(TheStreet) -- American International Group(AIG Quote) is a big, hulking mess. On that, we can all agree.

And while, last week, the flailing insurer made its biggest sale since it began divesting assets last year ($2.15 billion for Nan Shan Life), it still owns some rather unexpected and significant businesses.

According to a poll last week, TheStreet users say AIG will be able to rid themselves of enough of these puzzle pieces to pay back the government. But just how much it owns -- and what exactly is in that hefty portfolio -- may surprise you.

See inside AIG's biggest surprises. >

Indeed, not only is the company the largest underwriter of commercial and industrial insurance in the United States, but its reach stretches far beyond our shores. Did you know that AIG owns Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont? Or that Philiamlife, the largest insurance company in the Philippines, is but a piece in the AIG puzzle? Or that the company owns 900 jets? Or that it handles more than 80% of all insurance claims from private contractors in Iraq?

And that's just the beginning. In the interest of financial accountability, we at TheStreet.com have therefore begun peering into the depths of AIG, studying the assets that it may -- or may not -- shed in the effort to repay its $85 billion bailout.

Click the stories that follow, and keep coming back for more -- because a mess this big takes a while to sift through:

AIG Deconstructed: Stowe Mountain

AIG Deconstructed: Philamlife

AIG Deconstructed: Why AIG Owns 900 Jets

AIG Deconstructed: AIG Rules Iraq

AIG Deconstructed: AIG Ties Up Bulgari's Phone Lines

AIG Deconstructed: Why AIG Owns U.S. Ports

AIG Deconstructed: Footing the Bill for The World's Richest Team